What Are Essentials Oils?

The Basics

Have you ever smelled fresh lavender and felt relaxed? Or tasted fresh-cut mint on a salad or smoothie and felt refreshed? Well then, you’ve experienced the therapeutic benefits of essential oils.

Essential oils are the oil of the plant from which they were extracted. They’re basically concentrated herbs. They contain all the goodness that protects and maintains the plant, and we can use them to help support our own bodies’ health and wellness.

There are many different kinds of oils out there, and they all have different properties and uses. From well-known plants like Lavender and Lemon to exotic ones like Frankincense and Ylang Ylang, there’s an unfathomably huge range to choose from – and they each provide all sorts of different benefits and uses.

How to Use Essential Oils

There are 3 ways to use essential oils – aromatically, topically and internally. Here’s an easy-to-read graph to show you exactly how to use them.

Vitality Oils

Now in the premium starter kit, you’ll notice the bottles will have labels that look different. The white labels indicate oils that are labeled for internal or dietary use. There’s no difference in the oil – it’s the same thing, just with a different label. Here you see the white label is for Lemon Vitality for dietary use and the yellow label is for Lemon for aromatic and topical use.

So why the different label? Young Living is required to do that as the FDA says a product that is labeled for dietary use CANNOT be used for cosmetic purposes – e.g. topical or aromatic use. Yet again, it’s the same essential oil in both bottles. Go figure. It is what it is, but just know there oils aren’t different. It’s just Young Living’s way of complying with the FDA’s requirement. Any questions on that?

What Can Essential Oils Do?

Now that you know the basics on essential oils, let’s dive into what they can do for you. Or maybe a better question to ask is what can’t they do? Essentially everything, pun intended.

Remember that to get great benefits and results you must use therapeutic-grade essential oils that NOT been adulterated. Adulterated oils contain synthetic chemicals or compounds. And, those chemicals and compounds may actually be harmful to our body.

Why Choose Young Living?

One of the most important things we here at Let’s Be Frank Essentials have learned in our journey to healthy living is that it’s not just what something is – it’s where it comes from, how it’s grown, and how it’s processed. Just like we go to the farmers market to buy our food and want to know who grows our food, we want to know where my oils were coming from.

Young Living is the oldest and most trusted essential oil company in the world. They have been around for more than 20 years and the only essential oil company that owns farms all over the world (including France, Oman, Ecuador, and here in the U.S.) and oil distilleries. In fact, Gary Young, the founder of Young Living, built the first essential oil distillery in the U.S.

Their commitment to quality is called Seed to Seal. They have set the highest standards for planting, harvesting, and distilling on the farms they own and co-op. And best of all, you can see it first hand. Young Living members are encouraged to visit the farms to experience Seed to Seal.

Why Can’t I Just Buy Oils on Amazon or the Health Food Store?

The essential oils at the health food store are simply not the same quality as Young Living. Many have been adulterated with synthetic chemicals or contain cheap essential oils produced from crops with pesticides. Check the labels – they typically say not for “internal use” or “do not put directly on the skin”. We even challenge you to smell the difference. Peppermint, for instance, shouldn’t smell sweet or like candy. It should smell like a fresh-cut herb. When you compare Young Living’s Peppermint with another company – there’s simply no comparison.

And Amazon is no better, unfortunately. There are some imposter oils that are labeled Young Living, when actually they are diluted or replaced with fake oils. Yes, really. Young Living does NOT sell oils on Amazon. You can only get them direct from the company itself or through an independent distributor (like me).